The Irish Potato Famine and The Holocaust in Literature Essay

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The Irish Potato Famine and The Holocaust in Literature

Writers often use literature as a means of communicating traumatic events that occur in history, and such events are recorded by first-hand accounts as well as remembered by people far removed from the situation. Two traumatic events in history that are readily found in literature are The Irish Potato Famine and The Holocaust. A literary medium that has been used quite poignantly to convey trauma is poetry and the poetry from these two historical traumatic events is not difficult to find. Some wrote poetry to maintain their sanity as they experienced the traumatic event while others wrote after-the-fact as an outlet for emotional pain. Some wrote in remembrance of what they…show more content…

The author also benefits from writing about the trauma; a need to express what has happened, is quenched. It is shown that the “literature of trauma is written from the need to tell and retell the story of the traumatic experience, to make it ‘real’ both to the victim and to the community…[as well as] serving both as a validation and cathartic vehicle for the traumatized author” (Tal 21). The story is larger than the words of the author. His or her life has been permanently altered by trauma, and by acknowledging it in the realm of reality, readers can take part in the trauma.

In both of the historical events above, a great many people faced trauma, pain, starvation, disease, and all for a reason that is difficult, if not impossible to pinpoint. There is no way to determine why either situation occurred in history, but it is possible to examine the literature—more specifically the poetry—written during, after, and about those surreal events. Kali Tal has researched the literature of trauma extensively and states that the “literature of trauma is defined by the identity of its author [and it] holds at its center the reconstruction and recuperation of the traumatic experience” (16). She believes that a…

In the early 1800s life in Ireland wasn't easy, Irish citizens got by day to day by farming and relying on the potato. The potato was their main source of food and money. With out the potato the Irish would have nothing. No one was prepared for what was about to happen in 1845, the beginning of the Great Irish Potato Famine.
The Irish Potato Famine was the worst tragedy in the history of Ireland. The outcome of the famine would result in hundreds of thousands dead, an failure of the economy…

Research Paper: Irish Potato Famine
“Beginning in 1845 and lasting for six years, the potato famine killed over a million men, women and children in Ireland and caused another million to flee the country” (The History Place-Introduction). During the 1840s many Irish citizens lived in poverty. For food, the Irish relied almost entirely on potatoes because of their low cost and nutritional value. Then a devastating potato blight began in Europe in 1845 and destroyed the crops every year until 1851…

In the early 1800s life in Ireland wasn’t easy, Irish citizens got by day to day by farming and relying on the potato. The potato was their main source of food and money. With out the potato the Irish would have nothing. No one was prepared for what was about to happen in 1845, the beginning of the Great Irish Potato Famine.
The Irish Potato Famine was the worst tragedy in the history of Ireland. The outcome of the famine would result in hundreds of thousands dead, an failure of the economy…

The Irish Potato Famine and Emigration
During the Victorian era, England experienced tremendous growth in wealth and industry while Ireland struggled to survive. The reasons for Ireland's inability to take advantage of the Industrial Revolution are complex, and have been the subject of debate for more than a century. Many English viewed the Irish as stubborn farmers who refused to embrace the new technology. The Irish, however, believed the English had sabotaged their efforts to industrialize…

Events and Impact of Irish Potato Famine.
The Irish farming population have been left counting the cost of the
potato famine which has crippled their harvest and left many starving
to death. The British government must shoulder the blame after an
ineffective, slow and lacklustre effort to support the farmers and
improve conditions.
The famine itself started in September 1845 when leaves on potato
plants turned black and curled, then rotted, seemingly as a result of…

The Great Irish Potato Famine was during a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration through 1845-1850. According to the journal, “The Context of Migration: The Example of Ireland in the Nineteenth Century” by James H. Johnson, this caused the population of Ireland to decrease 20-25% and it did not stabilize again until the 1930’s. Although there was a potato crop failure in Europe in the 1840’s, one third of the Irish population was dependent on this crop. This was inevitable due to the…

The Great Irish Famine
The great famine of Ireland began around the year of 1845, when a deadly fungus reached the crops, leaving thousands of acres of land filled with black rot, and diseased crops (Szabo). This disease has become commonly known as the blight. The blight was a “mysterious disease” that “almost universally affected the potatoes on the island” (Kinealy 31). This suspicious “blight” had traveled to Europe from North America, affecting mostly Ireland (Bloy). The blight turned…

rain fell throughout Ireland, carrying with its pores of blight that killed multiple crops, including the potato crop. Because Ireland was dependent on the potato crop, the results of this blight were catastrophic. Britain, who had control over Ireland at this time, did very little to help the now starving and poor Irish. As a result of English disregard towards the Irish during the Potato Famine of 1845, the already fragile relationship between Ireland and England worsened.
When this particular blight…

of the greatest tragedies
Of the nineteenth century.”
-Ian Gibson
Irish-American. To some, this term merely designates one of the many ethnic groups which can be found in the United States; but to those who are Irish-American, it represents a people who faced a disaster of mammoth proportions and who managed to survive at great cost. The Great Hunger of 1845 changed, or more often, destroyed the lives of millions of Irish, causing them to seek refuge from poverty and starvation in other, more…

The Irish Potato Famine occurred in 1845 and had killed tons of people. Over 750,000 people had died and more than a million had emigrated. At the time Ireland’s population was only about 8 million so this famine had devastated many families. The people of Ireland at this time were so dependent upon the potato that it was a main staple. The Irish would consume the potato with almost every meal, and for some the potato was the only food that they were ever able to eat. The famine was produced by…